


Easier with you- Shark attack

by lasersheith



Series: Easier with you [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Distasteful Humor, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, PTSD, veterans keith and shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 06:25:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14372847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Matt's having a Halloween party at their house, much to Shiro's chagrin. It's a little more tolerable when Keith offers to come along.





	Easier with you- Shark attack

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place 7 weeks after "easier with you- I'll go in if you will" and several months before "everything's easier with you"

“Shiro, it's been a while since you've shared. Is there anything on your mind?” Colleen's tone was gentle but the look in her eyes was not. Neither was Shiro's as he looked back at her, for once holding her gaze.

 

“Yes, actually.” He replied coldly, everything about his posture and body language screaming his displeasure. “My _friend,”_ The emphasis on the word left a distinctly bitter echo. The phrase _your son_ was left unspoken, but they both knew he meant Matt. “Wants to have a stupid Halloween party this weekend and isn't listening to me when I tell him that it is a really bad idea.” He gritted out with his jaw mostly clenched.

 

Colleen eyed him thoughtfully. “Why do think it'll be such a bad idea?” Her gentle tone was normally soothing but hearing it then made Shiro see red.

 

He took a deep breath to calm himself before answering. “Because, there will be a bunch of strangers in our home and it'll be loud and people will probably be drinking and that's a lot for me to handle right now.” He managed not to raise his voice, but only just. Colleen hummed in thought. A few murmurs circled through the group.

 

“I found it really helpful to have a friend along when my wife had a 4th of July party at our place this summer. Somebody else that gets it, you know?” Shiro forced himself not to look in Keith's direction as he listened to Colleen thank the woman who spoke up and asked him if he thought that might help. He wanted to say that he didn't have anyone like that. That no one in his life got it. That wasn't quite true, though.

 

Keith spoke up before he had a chance to answer. “I'll go.” It came out so quietly that Shiro wasn't sure how anyone else heard, but they did. A few people chimed in how great that was of him. Another few clapped. Shiro ignored them and turned toward him with wide eyes and a fragile expression.

 

“You'd do that?” His throat was raw and his mouth was suddenly very dry. Keith nodded.

 

“‘Course.” He replied simply. Shiro felt his eyes water and desperately held back tears by sheer force of will. “We're gonna need costumes, though.” Half of his mouth was tilted up in the half smile that Shiro had tried his best to see as often as possible over the past 7 weeks.

 

Shiro cleared his throat and looked away. “Don't worry, I have a pretty good idea.” Keith's smile stayed for the rest of the session.

 

..

 

They pulled into Keith's driveway slowly and waited as the garage door opened. A beat up old sedan that once might have been burgundy but now was just the color of rust greeted them on the other side. Keith quickly pulled his bike into the vacant spot next to it and stored his helmet on the low shelf. There was a rack full of hooks with sets of keys dangling near the entrance to the house. Shiro had never been inside.

 

Keith exchanged his bike keys for another key ring and gestured for Shiro to hop in the car. The radio either didn't work or wasn’t turned on. “Sorry it's a piece of junk.” Keith said with another half-smile. “The plus is, doesn't matter if you smoke because the interior’s already trashed.” Shiro let out a curt laugh as he buckled himself in.

 

They each lit up a cigarette and rolled the windows down. They were the old manual rollers with a crank. Shiro was grateful that Keith didn't say anything as he struggled with his side. The trip to the store was quiet and uneventful. Shiro spent most of it lost in thought. It seemed like every moment spent with Keith was an intoxicating mixture of pure serenity and terrifying uncertainty. One second Shiro would more relaxed than he could remember feeling in years and then everything came crashing back tenfold as his thoughts went wild.

 

They arrived at the Halloween store in only a few minutes but it felt much longer. Keith shut off the car but made no move to get out, so Shiro followed suit. “So, what's your costume idea then?” Keith's face was neutral but his eyes were soft and relaxed. Shiro's heart fluttered uncomfortably in his chest.

 

“Well…” He started, stifling a laugh at his own sense of humor. “It's kinda… morbid.” He admitted sheepishly. Keith smirked. Shiro's chest tightened again.

 

“I can do morbid. It _is_ Halloween.” There was a glint in his eyes that belied his excitement.

 

Shiro smiled wide. “I was thinking…” He let another small laugh. “I could go as a surfer, and you could be a shark.” Keith's eyes went wide and his smirk slid into a grin.

 

When he laughed Shiro's heart soared. “Oh man, we could get that weird fake vampire blood goo!” Shiro nodded and started laughing along as Keith got carried away.

“Oh! Oh!” Shiro said as he clutched his sides. “If they have… if they have a mannequin or something… we could take the arm…” He couldn't finish his sentence from how hard he was laughing.

 

Keith's laughter intensified, too. “We could glue it into the shark's mouth!” They both bursted into another fit of giggles as Keith finished his sentence. A couple walked by with their cart and looked at them strangely. Keith noticed at the same time as Shiro and flipped them off. It set them both off again and it was several long moments before they were able to collect themselves.

 

Shiro was relieved when Keith didn't bother rolling his window up before getting out of the car. He always found it amusing that Keith was several inches shorter than him, but his long stride and even longer legs were able to match Shiro’s pace perfectly. They both took a deep breath as they walked inside the crowded, colorful store. They found the perfect “surfer guy” costume in minutes, complete with ratty bleach-blonde wig, tiny surfboard, and obnoxious floral swim trunks. A quick detour into the vampire section for fake blood had them snickering quietly to each other again.

 

Keith put on a dracula wig and Shiro dissolved into giggles again. “It hardly looks any different!” He teased. Keith frowned and pulled the wig off so he could swat at Shiro with it. An employee gave them a stern look, so they put it back on the shelf and hastily made their way to another aisle.

 

Shiro was beginning to lose hope of finding something to make a passable shark costume out of when they finally rounded the last row. There, in all its glory, was a single, solitary, iconic Left Shark costume. Keith let out an incredulous puff of air. “Oh my god, that happened years ago.” He said as he grabbed the package. “Well. It’s fate.” He pulled it down dramatically as he turned to Shiro and held it up. “It’s exactly my size.”

 

Shiro dropped his own costume and had to clap his hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter that was threatening to spill out. Keith twirled around, holding the shark costume up against himself like a ballgown. “We’re gonna have the best costume at that dumb party.” Keith’s cheeks burned with the effort to keep from grinning. Shiro didn’t even try. They found a crypt keeper hand that they decided would work well enough and headed back to Keith’s place after a minor scuffle over who would pay for what parts of which costume. Shiro ended up paying for all of it, to Keith’s annoyance.

 

The ride back was just as devoid of conversation as the ride there had been, but they kept glancing at each other and laughing the whole way.

 

..

 

Keith came over about an hour before the party was set to begin. He’d already cut out the black cloth covering the shark’s mouth so that he could attach the boney arm to the inside. It made it so that you could see his face inside of the mouth but Keith thought it was well worth the trade off. He’d rolled it securely and stuffed it into his backpack so Matt wouldn’t see it until they were completely ready. He suppressed a grin as he knocked on the door.

 

He’d only been inside once before, two weeks ago, to drag Shiro back to the support group after skipping two sessions in a row. Matt smiled wide when he saw Keith on the other side of the door. “Hey! Glad you could make it!” He stuck out his hand and Keith shook it with a tight-lipped smile. It was a little uncomfortable. “Shiro’s up in his room getting ready, he said I should be in for a treat, so my expectations are pretty high. No pressure, though.” He finished with a wink. Keith laughed politely and assured him that the suspense would be worth it.

 

He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and adjusted his backpack before knocking on Shiro’s bedroom door. Shiro peeked out to make sure it wasn’t Matt before throwing the door open wide and ushering him inside quickly. Keith’s mouth went dry at the sight of Shiro in just the flowery swim trunks. His torso was leaner than it had been before his accident, but still well defined. Keith’s eyes roved over the wide expanse of muscle. Shiro’s cheeks tinted as he noticed Keith staring. “I should uh, probably put on a shirt.” He mumbled as he grabbed a tank top from his closet. He clenched his teeth as he pulled it on, frowning at the thought of his scars making Keith uncomfortable.

 

“I don’t know, I think shirtless fits the tone better.” Keith said with practiced nonchalance. “Who surfs in a tank top?” Shiro hung his head, still facing the closet, and sighed.

 

He held onto the closet door but didn’t move to close it or turn around. “You don’t think… I mean I don’t want to make people uncomfortable. I know it’s rough to look at.” Keith gently put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Hey, you just got mauled by a shark, you’re just really dedicated to the character.” His delivery was completely deadpan and timed too perfectly. Shiro’s whole body quaked with laughter. Keith chuckled a little under his breath and squeezed Shiro’s shoulder. “We have a lot of fake blood to ruin your carpet with and not a lot of time to do it, so come on.” Shiro pulled the shirt back off and they got to work.

 

They walked into the kitchen 40 minutes later having not actually ruined the carpet (Keith’s jeans, however…) to an entirely unprepared Matt. He covered his grin with his hand as he looked back and forth between Shiro and Keith’s smug faces. “Oh my god. No.” He giggled out. “Where did you get that shark costume?” He pulled off his Mad Scientist gloves and spun Keith around.

 

“Spirit.” Shiro said with a chuckle. Matt shook his head with another laugh.

 

“Well thank god for Katy Perry, dead memes, and out of touch corporations.” All three of them laughed together as Matt put his gloves back on, still shaking his head. “Alright, officially, this is the best Halloween ever already.” He walked over to the garage. “I’m gonna grab some beers from the extra fridge and put them in a cooler so people don’t have to keep going in and out. Do you want me to grab anything else?” He said as he paused at the doorway. Shiro shook his head and Matt stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

 

He didn’t even bother turning on the light, instead taking a few steps forward and holding himself up by his hands on the hood of his car. His shoulders shook with silent tears as he let himself quietly fall apart for a moment. Shiro’s sense of humor had always been dark, even when they were kids. That stupid costume was the first time Matt could recall him even attempting to crack a joke in over a month. He swiped at his eyes and made a mental note to call his mom tomorrow and tell her all about it.

Shiro gave him a funny look when he came back inside empty-handed.


End file.
